After Ryan Davis' album Particles of Bliss (TRAUM 026CD), it was clear to everyone that he was one of the most versatile artists on the label. There was no electronic playground he did not enter. Now Davis returns with what can easily be referred to as the most powerful EP production of his to date. Opening the doors to newly-embarked soil, the EP kicks off with "Ghosts," an attractive and sophisticated piece of sculptured melodic techno that cuts out the cheesy bits and endless doodling often found in melodic emo music to give them an extra bit of physical strength and deepness.

This is the debut album from Ryan Davis. Davis has been recording music since 2006. He has produced for Manual Music, Cocoon, Proton, Areal, Archipel, Wunderbar and many other labels. His battle with established DJ structures led to the founding of his own label, Back Home, where he features new talents that share his interest in melodic techno. His release in 2007 on Klang Gymnastik, the Transformer EP, directly put him on the map and led to the Zyrial Soundfood EP in 2009 on the Dutch label, Manual, which can be considered his breakthrough. Two EP releases followed on Traum and it was the Routes Of Life EP that created an even bigger following and led to the idea of finally recording an album. The album consists of 11 never-released tracks that highlight his talent to keep away from preset formulas and turn toward music composition. The album opens with "The Enchanted Garden," a piano piece that flows, flies, observes with one eye -- keeping a perfect balance with sparks of electronica added. "Where The Right Things Are" is a haunted track, and in a gentle way is full of passion and sadness, madness and melancholy in the vein of New Order, King Of The Slums and Blue Orchids -- a great shoegazing track. "Beluga" kicks off with a pulsating pond of energy that shows the enormous composition skills Ryan is capable of. "Break The Night" articulates perfectly the heavy atmosphere the night radiates when a fine baroque feeling is created through a rotating "miniature" melody, circulating and winding its body through the gaps the bassline has created. "The Field" acts like a hi-speed flying camera sent to forbidden areas to record footage. Arousing, spectacular, triggering heart attacks, the track has a breathtaking tempo and is enchanting at the same time. "Aquarius" is light and floating with a classic feel, while "Head In The Clouds" has a bit of that early Aphex Twin feeling to it. "Entangled Life" articulates its strength with a mean, rectangular bassline, and "When Rain Drops" makes raindrops out of industrial romance. "Eyes Wide Open" has a nice melodic perspective with a great synth and a broad frequency range. The album closes with "Dragonheart," an emotional vocal ballad with a shoegazing edge to it. Making this a more personal finish definitely makes this album more special.

They appeared just before sunrise. No one had ever seen this kind of creature ever before: red flashing, and bright, shining alien butterflies attracted by the windmills. People stopped and got out of their cars to watch this spectacle. The flying creatures were constantly creating new, kaleidoscope-like formations, and slowly, and very softly at first, they started singing. And although nobody really understood their behavior, everybody understood their wistful and hopeful song. Remix by Pan/Tone.

Few artists in the electronic modern dance scene of today make music that seems serious and intense and still makes club people go wild. Ryan Davis captures a bit of the lost treasure of the golden days of techno, always reflecting moments of beauty with a collective feel. "Supernova" brings together hints of West Coast psychedelic soundtracks of the '70s, pop art, shoegaze and maybe Salvador Dali's surrealism. A masterful journey of truly epic proportions.